Fabrication of high-performance InP MESFETs with in-situ pulse-plated metal gates

Abstract

Although InP has higher saturation velocity and higher thermal conductivity than GaAs, its use in the active channel of electron devices has been limited by lack of suitable Schottky gate technology. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that high-performance InP MESFETs with Schottky barrier heights (SBHs)=0.85-0.89 eV can be realized by a novel in-situ electrochemical etching/plating technique. The InP Schottky barriers produced by this electrochemical process are free of interfacial oxides and Fermi level pinning is removed, realizing workfunction-dependent SBHs. High-barrier height, low-leakage and stable InP MESFETs are realized for the first time using this process.